Happy Friday, everybody! Ok, let me just get something out of the way real quick. May I ask a hugetastic favor? If you think I deserve it, please take a sec to let ‘em know over at the Wedding Channel that The Knotty Bride is one of your favorite Real Bride Blogs. (The more votes, the better chance I have of winning!) If you don’t mind, of course. Pretty please? You would make my year! Thank you like crazy! (If you do enter me and you feel like letting me know, go for it and, of course, I’m totally writing you back and thanking you to the high heavens. My gratefulness knows no bounds.)

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Love that, right? Me too. It’s one of the Finds, today. (:

Ok, let’s get going!

First off, this kind of rules. I think it’d be such a fun little project to do at your tame bachelorette party. Personally, if it’s strip club vs. ruffle shirt projects, I think I’ll opt for the ruffle shirt every time. {Continue reading…}

This, right here, rocks my effing socks off. (Does it make me uncool that a succulent boutonniere rocks my socks off?) Regardless, it’s got to be my favorite idea for a boutonniere in AGES. I’ve seen so many boutonnieres (I will never get used to spelling that out) and I rarely like them all that much. Just being honest. But this one has got it going on: it’s simple, it’s green, and it’s a succulent. I am obseeeeeessssssssed with succulents. And, last but not least, it’s yet another crafty and creative reason why I lurve Maddy over at Inspired Bride.

… Which, by the way, rule the school and all its inhabitants. While obviously not perfect for everybody, I know that right now there are quite a few of you who just gasped, leaped from your seat and did Homer’s happy dance on the floor. Because these printable table numbers are soooooo incredibly perfect for your rock and roll/music-related theme. Can’t you just taste how perfect they are for your theme, if it’s the aforementioned? Can’t you? Thank you, Lizzie, for these hot mamas.

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a marvelous weekend! The boy and I spent some time at Renegade Craft Fair on Sunday and aside from the gale-force winds and intermittent murderous rain droplets, it was a pretty fun experience. More on that a bit later in the week. And by the way, no I didn’t drag him. He came willingly. But I should note that I’ve sat through my – and your – fair share of uneventful baseball games. (I say “uneventful” because I rather enjoy the eventful ones. No matter the sport. Well, save for soccer. “Uneventful” games are those that even the guys don’t really enjoy, but they watch, just in case something happens. They are a FUN FAIL.)

Ok, so here’s the news: I love banners. Look, if you will, at the banner-related adorableness below, which I plucked from a past post.

Ok, so given my penchant for the above, I think it’s quite obvious why I lurve this DIY project from Martha. It combines my unwavering obsession with beautiful, easy DIY projects with my love for all things involving and/or related to typography. Hence, my happiness over this find.

By the way, you do know how much I love typography… right? Here‘s your proof. Here, too. And here. If you needed it.

Also, I’m pretty sure there’s no confusion out there over whether or not I go batty over beautiful, eye-catching DIY ideas and free printables meant to make a bride’s wedding day that extra bit of special we all crave… but here‘s the proof on that, too. Want some more? No problem; why don’t you check out this partial list of my posted projects and printables! Hope you enjoy!

… And the list goes on, of course. So, yeah, I really enjoy doing it [my]self.

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Wedding banners have been around for a long time; everyone has seen the words “Just Married” – the most traditional phrase – on at least one rear window, bike seat, or even cake topper in their lives…

Oohh, speaking of toppers…

(Click the topper to go to that post!)

However, maybe you’re looking for something much more unique in your wedding banner, but don’t really want to have to make it yourself? Or, maybe you’re searching for a less classic/traditional look in your banner. Of course, that’s no problem at all these days, given the choices that have come out of the woodwork over the past several years. There are a number of vendors out there who would be thrilled to help you out with that.

Hope you enjoyed this one! Let me know – are you a fan of wedding/e-session banners? I think it’s obvious that I am, but I’m super curious what you guys think. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts! And if you’re ambivalent, you can just tell me about your weekend. (:

Hello and happy Friday, everybody! How we doin’ today, eh? Doin’ well? I sure hope so. The weekend is upon us, so that means fun in the sun if all goes according to plan. Anyone have any interesting plans for the ol’ Sat-to-Sun? Me, I kinda feel like hiking again. You discover really cool things when you hike, like wedding venues. Yeah, totally serious. The boy and I plan to re-scope out this random beautiful joint upon which we stumbled while on a hike just north of the city a couple of weekends ago. I shall report back once the verdict on its quality is in. (:

Anywho, while we continue working out our server switcheroonie, as some of you have coined it (which I love and have now adopted), I thought I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring some seriously fabulous finds I managed to scoop up this week. So, here we go!

First up, a few killer details from one seriously UN.BE.LIEV.ABLE wedding, as photographed by – who else – Max Wanger, and featured on 100 Layer Cake. Le sigh. I shall dream about this beach wedding forever and always. Its colors, textures and characters (of the human sort) are the stuff of inspiration shoots, not real-life weddings. So this rocks it to the fullest. And by the way, PERSONALIZED BEACH TOWEL FAVORS ALERT!

Ok, this wedding featured on Style Me Pretty straight-up-now-tell-me blew me away. But most weddings involving horses (not pictured here) tend to blow me away, because, I mean, how did they get horses involved in their wedding? You know? It seems so involved. Do these people own horses? Do they find a horse – I dunno, farm, and shoot there so that it looks like horses attended their wedding? Does the New York Times write, “the wedding was well-attended; also, they had horses” because you can’t ignore the horse-factor. It’s a huge factor. It’s the elephant at the wedding, essentially. (Can you tell that I’m up way past my bedtime right now? It gets crazier and crazier.)

By the way, obsessed with the bouquet. Obsessed. It’s sort of EXACTLY RIGHT.

My good friend Melissa, of The Loveliest Day, made quite a stir in her new role blogging for Ruffled with one seriously sparkle-rific wedding dress… and not to mention super hunky groom. Super. Hunky. (Massive congrats, Melissa! Sooo freaking awesome.) Here’s a lil taste of the fabulosity that awaits you.

Coveting the incredibly laid-back but terrifically chic style of this bang-sporting bride. And just LOOK at that sassy feather statement necklace she’s got on!! Does it NOT fit perfectly with that gown? J’adore. Plus, you guys know how much I love a good bang! Hair, we’re talking hair. (… But I like the other kind, too, obvs.)

I don’t know about you, but for me, a red velvet cupcake + a mason jar = the cutest, tastiest thing possible. I am loving this as wedding favors, especially with the spoons tied to the jars with – my favorite – baker’s twine! Most of you know I have a love affair with the stuff. (Yes, it’s under control now.) I found this awesomeness over on With This Ring, and she found it, plus instructions on cakies blog!

Here’s the supplies list, courtesy of cakies, if you’re interested in trying your hand at these babies:

Ooh, one more thing… you see the chic young lady at the tippy top of this post? Well, her name’s Andi, and she has a blog. On that blog, she posted the musical stylings of the fabulous Diane Birch, and I just seriously have to share this with all of you, if you haven’t already heard of her. Because she’s a whole lotta wonderful.

Ok, I get that these are some pretty REDONK finds I’ve got here today. They may in fact be so fabulous that deciding on a favorite is super way hard. But whatev who cares – I really wanna know so I’m still asking. (:

So, do tell: which of these is/are most inspiring to YOU? Lemme know. I can’t wait to hear!!!

Ok, before I get into what the above is all about, I just wanna say that I really hope everyone had themselves super enjoyable/rewarding/relaxing Memorial Day weekends! For the most part, the weather ’round here was ridiculously gorgeous, and it seemed pretty hard not to have a good time, regardless of what we were doing. In fact, just stepping outside made my day. Though playing a little tennis and getting half my body into a pool certainly didn’t hurt matters. What does that mean? That means that I was faced with frigid pool waters, and I was the only one – among numerous children – who could not get my body to dip past the belly button point. What I had always believed to be the most difficult body part to submerge, the “undercarriage,” was already safely tucked beneath the icy surf. But the water remained intolerable. Mind you, six-year-olds with arm floaties were all around me, having a collective ball. And I’m sure none of them quite understood or cared about what I was going through. I seriously hung there, perched with my ass beneath the water line. Oh, the shame. (For the record, it was really, really cold.)

But I did push the fiancé in the pool about five times. That was awesome. Mainly because I always waited until his body had warmed sufficiently to make the cold water startling again. Good times!! (;

Anyway, y’all know how much I love Martha Stewart, right? Well, it’s almost as much as I love southern dialects. But seriously, I cherish Martha Stewart Weddings for all the DIY goodies and inspiration the resource always has to offer. So I decided to sort through it all and I’ve collected a hefty bunch of my favorites for your consideration. I hope you love!

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So, you see those jam jars up top? Ok, well I am OBSESSED with their lid labels. Completely obsessed. Jam jars are such a popular idea for weddings these days, and these labels are my current favorite way to top them! Get the clip art here!

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Totally in lust with this idea. Make your girls their very own lace clutches! How gorgeous are these? Not to mention crazy simple to create – all there is to do is print the clip art onto heat-transfer paper, then just iron the designs onto fabric! Get the clip art here!

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I seriously covet these monogram labels; they’re just perfect for your favor boxes, and whatever else you’d like to monogram! :) Get the clip art here!

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I absolutely adore these place card designs and highly recommend them for your wedding. They’re really quite elegant, and all you need to do is print them on preperforated card stock. Done and done! Get the clip art here!

How about creating your own uniquely designed cookie tins with Martha’s download-and-print doily labels? I know – so cute. They come in red, blue, and green, too. Get the clip art here!

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I am in love with the beauty of these custom Blueprint wrapping papers!!! I think they’d look amazing as part of your decor. There are five in all, and only Martha has them. Pretty rad. Get them here!

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Last but not least, there’s this too adorable cookie gift sleeve label. You have a whole bunch of different label options, for pretty much any occasion (for a wedding, go with “for you to enjoy“). All you’ll need besides the clip art are CD envelopes and adhesive paper. Get the clip art here!

So, what do you think? Do any of these catch your eye as a fabulous DIY? I’m curious what you guys think!

After at least a month of server error messages, random admin logouts and a constantly spotty at best site connection, GoDaddy FINALLY admitted yesterday that it’s their servers, and not anything we’re doing wrong. This, after being told upwards of 40 times that it’s something we’re doing wrong. I kid you not. Upwards of 40 times. Finally, after much anguish and through-the-night-every-night-troubleshooting on our part, downloading and restoring databases, uninstalling, installing and reconfiguring plugins, tears (yeah, I cried a lot, I’ll admit it), GoDaddy revealed yesterday that “certain servers are not functioning properly.” That my site “is on the list of affected sites.” That they’ve “got their best guys on the job.” Progress thus far? “Umm, well we haven’t solved it yet.” When will it be solved – ballpark? “We can’t seem to pinpoint the problem, because, you see, we aren’t seeing the error messages that everyone else is seeing outside of our network. So we’re having trouble figuring out why the servers are malfunctioning… but we’re hard at work on it.” Can you do something, like migrate me to a new server that isn’t shitty? “No, nope, we can’t do that. Sorry.” Really? “Yeah, sorry. That’s not something we can do.” Oh.

Can you stand it?

I can’t anymore. So I’m letting the world know, after too many sleepless nights and lost traffic.

GoDaddy is dishonest and chooses to blame the customer for its own failures. The people on the front lines have been as kind as possible, but their supervisors have perpetuated a cover-up, and are hardly if at all concerned with customer satisfaction.

That’s all for now. Just thought I should spread the word at this point, since I am now aware that this is a widespread problem, and that GoDaddy is not making efforts to alert anyone affected.

Lastly, THANK YOU to everyone who contacted me to see what was wrong with the site and where it disappears to at random times throughout the day. I can’t tell you how much we’ve appreciated your concern. Thanks so much for caring! At least we finally have the knowledge that weren’t doing anything wrong this whole entire time. But it certainly doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

I’ll be providing updates, mostly on twitter, regarding GoDaddy’s behavior and how things progress as far as how we decide to proceed from here. I hope there aren’t too many of you experiencing these same issues! It’s traumatizing, truly.

I have to show you this, because it is a reason to live… if you look for reasons to live in your wedding blogs. I hinted at its furious awesomeness in last week’s FFF, but it bears repeating and expanding.

The wedding of Junia and Andres, photographed by the amazing Sarah Yates, was featured on Style Me Pretty by Erin Lepperd of Erin Ever After, a very prolific partner in guest blogging crime over on SMP (not to mention, one of my favorite blogger broads)… and it is the end. The end, my friend. The end of any sadness, any inspiration drought you may be having, the end of suffering, the end of you doing any more work at your 9-5. You’re done. Because you’re going to stare at THIS for the remainder of your day.

Note: my Mom practically begged me to let her buy me those succulent candles on a trip to Crate & Barrel. I didn’t let her because I didn’t have a need for them and because I’m crazy. Aren’t they precious?

How much do you LOVE Erin for blogging that freaking phenomenal wedding?!! A bushel? A peck? A hug around the neck? I love her a barrel and an effing HEAP. Thank you, Erin, for bringing me enough inspiration to last me through the weekend. The wedding of Junia and Andres will be in my dreams – both the day and the night kinds.

By the way, you totally have to check out the rad-ass Portland, Oregon wedding feature I have going up on SMP today. No, seriously. No. SERIOUSLY. When it’s up (I’ll update this post), check it out, and then GO TO THE GALLERY. It is sick.

This next great idea comes from Amy, the amazing force behind one of my favorite blogs, Eat Drink Chic. I think each of your bridesmaids would absolutely adore receiving their own, personalized version of these thank you cards, designed by Leslie Lewis Sigler of Lilly & Louise! Each is a watercolor wash paper silhouette of a dress! Too cute.

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This next find makes my mouth water and eyes light up. We’re all familiar with the fabulous Elizabeth Messina; well, CHECK OUT THE CHOCOLATE BARS SHE HAD AT HER OWN WEDDING…

Yeah. To die. Steal this idea, PLEASE. And send me a photo. :)

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And now, for the ultimate decadence… brought to you by none other than my beloved Tartelette…

Now, the amazing thing about these tasty beauties is that their GLUTEN FREE, and I’ve never seen anything made without flour look so incredibly delicious. Except, maybe these.

Aright, kiddies, that’s it for the Finds! Which of these is your favorite? I’m dying to know. I have this sneaking suspicion it’s going to be the ice cream sandwiches, hands down. But I could be wrong. Let me know. ;)

Have a delightful weekend, everyone! Can’t wait to show you what’s in store next week. Cannot. Wait.

Hope you’re having a decent Friday so far! (I’m sure that depends entirely upon the time of day you are reading this.) In any case, let’s get started, shall we?

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So, today’s first Fab Find comes from Christine and Vania, the fab duo of SimplyBloom. I don’t think it’s possible for these ladies to produce anything less than perfection. Would you agree? I mean, just look at this image:

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Now, I am interrupting this installment of Friday’s Fab Finds to bring you a quick bit of titillating info before we move on… As many of you know, I went a little insane with a bucket of Nutella recently. See: this post, and my Twitter feed on that day (which I will NOT link to because it is craziness). Well, based on our brief white chocolate love affair and its aftereffects, I have a newsflash. However, please note that this is by no means based on scientific data of any sort. Only my personal experience. My personal, fantastic experience. But I say with certain confidence – both in the truth of this, and a different, new-found confidence I remember having in college – that Nutella makes your two friends to the north larger. By two cup sizes, to be precise. There, I said it. I feel the need, however, to warn you not to overindulge unless you are willing to accept that this effect may be singular to me. To my lucky freaking a$$. Aaaaand now that I’ve bragged I’m sure they will go away soon. Well, I’m not sure, but most good things do, so I’m basing that assumption off of experience. Like when they took away my favorite flavor of Progresso soup. Or the time they discontinued my favorite flavor of Wishbone salad dressing. WHY DO THEY DO THIS ALL THE TIME? Am I alone in this pain? Me and my heaving bosom?

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Next up, the freebie you’ve all been hearing about… Complimentary tickets for readers of The Knotty Bride from the fabulous ladies of The Wedding Salon!!! I know! How great is this?! The event is Monday, May 3, 2010 at The London West Hollywood. To grab yourself these free tickets, just click here, then click “Register for this Event” and use promo code: KBLAC – that’s it! Woot! The ladies of Wedding Salon put on spectacular events, and my friends and I always have loads of fun. You do not want to miss this, TRUST. You’re seriously in for a blast… not to mention endless wedding inspiration, which is kind of the point.

This next find made me jump a little in my chair when I first saw it. Pretty much just like everything else the Wedding Chicks do. I mean, right when I think they’ve given us the best free printable ever, they come out with a little something like AIRPLANE SAVE-THE-DATES. Check it:

Want your own? Go make it, now! Oh, and you might be interested to know that they came out with another save-the-date printable, and it’s Mad Men inspired. You’re welcome.

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How ’bout some sexy lingerie? Yeah, it’s been too long since the last time I displayed a couple of near-naked bods on this here blog. The wait is over:

Alright, Happy Friday, my lovelies! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the finds this week, and I hope you have splendid things in the works for your weekends… like relaxing, and sitting, and lying down in the grass and stuff like that. (Can you tell I’ve had a hectic week?) Speaking of chillaxing, I’m listening to this song as I write these closing remarks. It’s soothing to the nth degree. Soooooothing. In my opinion, at least. And this song is fantastic, sad sad sad, but simply fantastic.

By the way, which of today’s Fab Finds is your absolute favorite?! I’m a little bit curious. ;)

I dropped by Anthropologie two nights in a row last week, and while my wallet is pissed off, my hypothalamus is giving me a head massage. It was exhilarating, like shopping so often is – especially since I never go shopping anymore (NO TIME). I was like a squirrel but with clothes, storing up for the long, warm summer. Pretty much everything that caught my eye went into my dressing room. While in there, I happened to overhear a salesgirl kvetching to her coworker; “I can’t STAND IT when these people come IN HERE and pick up EVERYTHING IN THE STORE LIKE ANIMALS. UGGGGHHH!” For reasons not worth explaining, I know she wasn’t talking about me, but I also know she didn’t know I was in there, hence the uncensored and highly inappropriate discourse. (I’m really stealth when I try on clothes. You can hardly hear me. Which means I’ve overheard a lot of conversations over time. Let me tell you, what girls discuss in dressing rooms when they think no one is listening… it’s everything you ever thought it would be.)

Anywho – I bought way too much, but it’s all FABULOUS so I’m pouring over my finds to see if I can part with any of them. So far, no dice. I love them all very much. So much, in fact, that I’m bringing you a wedding from the brilliant duo over at SimplyBloom that has Anthro touches in it! Because I’m obsessed, you see. Because I’m obsessed.

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Ok, first, I HAVE to share with you a handful of gumballiscious engagement shots – same couple, different day of course. I am dying over these. How much better is eye candy when it’s actual candy?

And now, ladies and germs… feast your eyes on this. It is one of the most lovely, romantic and smartly decorated affairs I have seen in my lifetime. As I like to say starting today: delightful little details and a simple, calm color palette make for the dreamiest weddings around. :)

Ok, you know how much I love twine. And cupcake wrappers are never, ever a bad thing. Well, twine mated with cupcake wrappers at the hand of Stacey, the bride, to make what you see above and below. THAT’S THEIR CEREMONY ARCH! Be still my heart.

Check out the Anthro touches; charming rustic frames and candles, all part of the ceremony decor!

Here’s the bride on the arm of her brother! This shot is a favorite of mine; how I love precious family moments. :)

Now, look at these reception details, people. I hope you’re sitting down. Make sure your boss is either cool or isn’t around, because you might want to stare like an idiot at these shots for a while:

See that darling cake? It was baked by Chris’ sister. Now THAT is what I call a sibling. Chris’ sister, you are the coolest. You’re also a cake-baking maven; that thing looks phenomenal!

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Want to stare at every last image from this fine day? Click here to see the rest of “Stacey & Chris’s Anthropologie Inspired Wedding” on SimplyBloom‘s blog!

All I can think of to say is THANK YOU, Amy and Jocey! You two are helping us ramp up that pretty factor in our lives, AND saving countless trees in the process, now that we don’t have to go and carve our names in actual trees anymore! Thank goodness, because that is soooo 50s! Plus, with Earth Day ’round the corner, this is exactly the kind of thing we need.

Oooh, did I mention the color combination options? Because there are many, and they are AWESOME.

It was extremely fun to make this. Which I know sounds ridiculous, but it was, it really was.

So, want a piece of this interactive graphic action? Who am I kidding, of course you do! Click here to create your own custom heart + arrow monogram right now, over on the Wedding Chicks blog!

In the meantime, check out some photos Amy took depicting all the cool stuff you can do with your custom monogram (ideas included below: invitations, envelopes, labels, menus and table numbers):

I bought my ceramic six-slot egg crates at Williams-Sonoma this past weekend on a mall excursion with the fiancé. Here’s one of them. Isn’t it gorgeous? I mean, for an egg crate? THANK YOU, Williams-Sonoma, for having this in your store and selling it for $5.00. Sweet Lord that was a find and a half.

Plans for them: use as props in future inspiration shoots.Current use: place the two eggs I cook every morning in one of the crates, for safe keeping while the butter melts.

After experiencing Issue #1, I was itching to see what the gals of Nonpareil Magazine had in store for us with Issue #2. What’s the complete opposite of being disappointed? I am that.

Totally inspiring. Like, the definition of inspiring. A color palette so powerful it actually makes me feel good when I linger on it. Prop and set styling that make me go gaga and – icing on the cake, people – downloadable printable templates… for free.

Here, check out some more eye candy. Don’t you just want to eat up the pictures?

Yummo.

This is some good stuff, m’friends. It’s entire minutes of fun over there! (That may not seem like a compliment, but trust me, it is – and it’s a huge one at that. I normally spend seconds on all of my daily reads and the countless new discoveries I make throughout the day. So, finding something that can hold my attention for whole minutes – and many of them – is, for me, kind of a big deal.)

Morning, everyone! Just yesterday, I received in the mail my beloved Cox & Cox catalog. As per usual, it’s filled to the brim with the most delightful details one could ask for in a wedding and, as per usual, it’s got me all hot and bothered. Peculiar how pretty little tchotchkes can do that to a girl. Anyway, gotta share some of the new swag to be had (plus a few oldies for good measure):

Vintage Design Cake Boxes – NEW!

Rose Cupcake Wrappers – NEW!

Vintage Design Cones – NEW!

Cupcake Stand – NOT NEW, BUT STILL!

Organza Favor Bags – NOT NEW AS WELL!

(Like these? Well, using StazOn ink and other materials similar to those in this post on DIY Wedding Eye Candy, I created the CUTEST stamped bags to house some chocolate lollipops I made for Christmas last year. I wish I had a picture of them to show you! They were too cute, if I do say so myself. It’s really so easy – I highly recommend making them yourself!)

I found this tool on Brides.com and it entertained me so much, that I just had to share it with you guys. {Let me know what YOU think of it!}

If you’ve been struggling to figure out the perfect color combination and design for your wedding cake, here’s a nifty little solution. It’s not unlike those sites that let you upload your face to test haircuts – which, by the way, are woefully unhelpful and really serve only to make you think you have an oddly-shaped head… unless you totally don’t know what I’m talking about, which would render me someone who has an oddly-shaped head. Oh dear.

Anyway, the tool, aptly named “Create-a-Cake,” allows you to whip up a cake prototype (that’s probably a bit too technical-sounding for wedding cakes, but I can’t think of anything else so whatever), and you can even print it out to show your baker! It’s real handy, and I like it. Heck, even if you’re not planning a wedding, it’s kind of a lot of fun to play around with the colors and decorations.

As you can see here, I was (unwittingly at the time) craving a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Or wedding cake.

Notice how I spelled out T-K-B? Yeah, I took a little longer than I should have on that. Oh the life of a detail-oriented person. What am I saying, I LOVE BEING THAT WAY. :)

Ooh, and stay tuned for more Fab Finds, silly goose! That’s what my niece and nephew call me. If we all insulted each other the way very young children do, I think the world would be a slightly better place. Slightly better.

On a visit to Chic Florals & Events, while scrolling down the page I suddenly caught sight of something I knew I had seen before, elsewhere. I remember totally loving it but, of course, whenever that first time was, I had been distracted by some other bit of loveliness elsewhere, and left it behind. Well, thankfully I stumbled upon it once again, and no way is it getting left in my dust this time. It’s just too pretty, too chic, and too great an idea to risk forgetting about all over again.

How sharp does that look? There’s something so incredibly exquisite about this idea… and while I can’t speak for all dessert cheese tables, I’ll risk it and say that if you set up a smartly chosen arrangement of low-stink factor milky delights, and label those suckers in such a way as has been done here by the amazing Maybelle Imasa-stukuls, I’d say you’ve got a guaranteed hit on your hands. And why’s that?

… Because people LOVE CHEESE. And the only thing people love more than cheese is cheese spread across a slice of baguette.

The objective, in Karen’s words: “we decided to create a dessert cheese table—very much in the French fashion—using a rustic chic look for décor, staying within the given color palette of cream and white.”

By the way, adding comb honey to the tablescape is a magnificent idea, if you ask me. Not only is it easy on the eyes (who hasn’t stared at that captivating little jar of tightly packed honeycomb, just waiting for a good reason to buy it?), but spread on bread or paired with a strong cheese, it’s one heck of a treat for the palate. Your guests will LOVE it!

If you’re a fiend for projects and printables today, how about some love note candy wrappers? These pastel printable delights – made especially for Valentine’s Day – were created by who else but one of my idols, Ez (of Creature Comforts) and her amazing partner, Marichelle, both of the super cute online shop, Nice Package. I love them!!!

This is what the printable PDF looks like; click here to visit Nice Package for the download!

By the way, I caught a glimpse of these lovely postage stamps on Paper Pastries and fell madly for them.

I’ve seen most of these from afar, on wedding invitations and the like, but I’ve never actually seen them all together like this, and they officially need to be in my life.

I don’t even necessarily need a letter, I just want these stamps; somebody, please, get me these stamps.

I really got a kick out of seeing this super cute light bulb Valentine idea Arwen O’Reilly Griffith from Craft found over at Design*Sponge! How absolutely perfect is this, especially for maybe the handyman in your life? (Assuming that your significant other is the handyman. It might be awkward to gift this to your hired handyman, though I’m certain he’d appreciate it.)

If you’re serious about this project, it’s a pretty comprehensive tutorial; down to instructions on hollowing out a lightbulb… so, since I know nothing about that, visit Arwen’s post or get thee to Design*Sponge to begin turning old crap into new sap! (You know, ‘sap,’ as in sappiness… as in the essence of V-Day… maybe I’m just cracking myself up here.)

Another cute thing, followed by another craft thing, then I’m done, I PROMISE (for now, at least… and I crossed my fingers anyway so whatev); how cute are these Kraft Address Labels from Paper Pastries?

LOVE.

I think this is great, so I thought I’d share it with all of you in case anyone’s looking to deliver a tiny little gift in a super cute way:

It’s called a “jar of hearts” and it’s by Jessica Wilson. Click here for the how-to! I found it over at CRAFT, a great place for, well, crafting. :)

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Okay my dear, dear friends… I think that’s quite enough for now. It’s just that I found SO MUCH amazing stuff and, well, my world is one of all or nothing/go big or go home… which translates into bringing back everything I love, with nary an exception. Time-consuming for me, pretty good deal for you, eh? ;)

With that said, I’m going to return to enjoying the heck out of my new haircut. I feel like a brand new woman! Haircuts: highly recommended. Lots of love to everyone! I hope your weekends are warm and fuzzy.

So, I was thinking… and it led to an idea (hoorah!). How about edible escort card numbers?

I saw these terrific 0-9 number cookie cutters at my new favorite shop Cox & Cox (I swear, they’re not a sponsor…), and thought – how wonderful would it be to put these baked numbers inside of favor boxes for your guests? Not only would they guide them safely to their tables, but your guests would have a nice snack along the way!

The only issue concerning edible escort numbers: they might… okay, they will get a little stale if you bake them way in advance of your wedding day. So here’s a tip: ask one of your bridesmaids if she’d be so kind as to bake them for you. (Sorry, bridesmaids… I might have just added another task to your long and winding road of a list. Forgive me!)

I found out about these darling bits of sweetness from Two Brunettes, and I’m telling you, the find absolutely made my day! They’re quite the perfect touch for a wedding ’round this time of year, wouldn’t you say? You can get them for yourself over at Cox & Cox, and the only thing stopping me from placing an order on the double is a crippling lack of knowledge about the shelf life of sugar cubes. (Will they still look like that in 5 months? I’m not well versed in sugar cubes, I’m a sugar packet girl. This is the same kind of feeling that’s kept my hand paralyzed, with the mouse hovering over the checkout button on the sparklers order…)

So, as usual, I was looking for more really cute, chic details for my upcoming nuptials, and I think I’ve found yet another one worth sharing.

Striped paper straws. A crowd favorite, dating all the way back to childhood. I can’t be the only one who blew bubbles in my chocolate milk when a wee babe. I’m totally invested (mentally, we’ll see about budget-ly) in these cutie-patooties.

I found those super cute ones above over at Design is Mine, and I didn’t just get excited, I pretty much flipped out. After this long, it still amazes me how aggressively the adrenaline within me can race throughout my body the moment I see something as insignificant as a paper straw. I think it has something to do with all the colors and choices. If there’s one thing I love, it is having options. (They are also my downfall; I am indecisive as a rule. But we all love the things that are not the best for us, so I’d say that makes me normal. At least… that’s what I tell myself when I go to bed at night.) Anyway, I choose not to question it. Especially since, when I go with it, I always end up in my happy place!

It might interest you to know that the person responsible for the photographic bliss above is food/prop stylist Paul Lowe, and it might interest you even more to know that he has an incredibly addictive blog, called Sweet Paul. Oh, how I heart him.

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Okay, so we’ve established one fact so far: paper straws rule. Especially colorful, striped ones. But now we need something deserving of said straws, right? How about THIS…

Want to get your hands on some colorful pop for your big day? Project Wedding – which is where I found the awesomeness immediately above – suggests BevMo. Located in CA, they’ve got a wide selection of these super cute specialty sodas (and if you don’t live in CA, you can buy ‘em online – gotta love the internet). You can also check in your local gourmet food shop for these uniquely joyful-looking drinks. So, they’re around! You just may have to do a little searching depending on where you’re located. :)

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Next are some awesome pics by Cindy Ensley, which I discovered via the lovely Audrey of Urbanic + Parcel Post. (My original description of Audrey involved “the pretty paper pusher,” but I thought it made her sound like some sort of fetish drug dealer, which seemed like a bad thing. So “the lovely” it is. And lovely, you are, Audrey!)

I know, SO cute. Word on the ‘net is that you can find these babies over at Kikkerland. It’s a great source for stuff like this; I visit the place quite a bit. Not to mention, pretty much everyone I credited within this here post suggests the same. Aside from Kikkerland, you can check out Pipii’s Marketplace, which carries the exact same brand.

In other news, check out Cindy’s save the dates -

Absolutely darling, wouldn’t you agree? And totally DIY-licious. You’ll probably be familiar with her supplies - she used one of Martha’s punch sets, kraft paper (you already know the feelings I have for kraft paper), some AWESOME rubber stamps and white embossing powder. See, all it takes are a few simple tools, and a lot of imagination and creativity!

Okay, just one more pretty picture of my new love:

Found these cherry red beauties over on Jordan Ferney’s Oh Happy Day! I’m sure you could figure out a way to work those stunners into a Valentine’s Day party, or even better, a love-themed wedding. Though that’s what all weddings should be themed. Oh sappy me; that’s just how I like to end things. On a sap note!

Instead, let’s start with the loveliest free printable V-Day postcard you’ve ever seen. I’m assuming. Because this is pretty freakin’ lovely, and I haven’t been this ticked by a postcard picture in YEARS. Thank you, Wedding Chicks, for this masterpiece theater! Go get it here!